Bitcoin Surges 3.5% On US Election Day As Fears Of Uncertainty Persist

Bitcoin showed resilience on U.S. Election Day, gaining 3.35% over a 24-hour trading period late Tuesday.

What Happened: The apex cryptocurrency traded well above the $13,500 mark as early results from the polls began to emerge at press time.

Most altcoins didn't follow Bitcoin’s lead and traded in the red with Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Chainlink (LINK) down by 0.23%, 5.86%, and 3.56% respectively. An outlier was XRP, which gained 0.95%.

“Bitcoin price will be sensitive to the outcome of U.S. elections [on Tuesday],” Stacks Funds co-founder Matthew Dibb told CoinDesk. 

Why It Matters: The short-term volatility in Bitcoin is likely the outcome of fears that the U.S. elections may be contested leading to political and economic uncertainty, noted CoinDesk. 

Bitcoin ran up 28% in October, its biggest monthly gain since April, as per CoinMarketCap data. The cryptocurrency’s upward movement has been bolstered by the news cycle.

On Monday, PayPal Holdings, Inc PYPL CEO Daniel Schulman said the company would bring cryptocurrency transactions to its Venmo app and international users in the first half of next year.

Jack Dorsey-lead Square Inc SQ announced a $50 million investment in Bitcoin in early October.

Bitcoin is once again hovering near the $14,000 mark it touched over the weekend.

Price Action: At press time, Bitcoin traded 2% higher at 13,820.41, Ethereum traded 0.23% lower at $382.98, Ripple traded 0.95% higher at $0.24. Bitcoin Cash and Chainlink traded 5.86% and 3.56% lower at $242.38 and $10.25 respectively.